Has Google's search proposal already been shot down?

The case continues?

Google's rivals have dropped hints that they'll be rejecting the search engine's offer to change how it labels its results, following an ongoing investigation by the European Commission.

It looked like a resolution was on the horizon for the case that saw Google accused of pushing its own products in search results at the expense of rivals'.

Google has proposed labelling rival results in its listings, helping to promote competing mapping services, video sites and shopping options, among other things.

However, the Guardian reports that Google's competition have indicated that they will reject the offer. Bing and Yahoo are two of the biggest in the affected parties, although there's no indication if both of these are set to turn down Google's proposal.

Trust issues

European consumer organisation BEUC, whose member portfolio includes Which?, said the proposals were disappointing and would not put an end to "the current anti-competitive behaviour in what is essentially a monopoly market".

Google's proposal was published on Thursday, giving rivals a month to respond with comment. If accepted, it would mean Google would be bound to its promise for its European search engine for five years. If rejected, it could lead to Google being forced to follow a new legal protocol, and possibly facing fines.

Google told us: "We continue to work cooperatively with the European Commission".

Yahoo refused to comment on whether there was any truth in this latest story. We have also contacted Microsoft and will update if we hear more information.